BEYOND THE SQUARE CROCHET MOTIFS

This colorful book may make a nice addition to your crochet library if you don’t already own a bunch of crochet square books. While these ’squares’ are not all square, many are repeats of those seen in other books. However, there are a few in this collection that I find to be especially appealing.

I like hearts. They speak to me. Motif #127 is a unique heart motif with a trefoil in its center.

Motif #130 is an oval that I’ve not seen before. There are several stars, but Motif #144 is an especially charming two-colored star that would make an excellent applique. Motif #17 is a very unusual circular flower motif using picot stitches (not my favorites but very effective).

Each motif is pictured in color with an accompanying symbol chart plus an inset with directions on THAT PAGE for any special stitches. Most motifs cover a single page, so keeping this book on your lap while working is comfortable.

The motifs are organized by chapter – circles, hexagons, triangles, squares, and unusual shapes. In addition, there are the usual ‘how-to’s’ at the beginning and a stitch key in the back of the book. All photos are full color, which adds to the visual appeal of this book. There’s also a very cute 7 page lay-out of color drawings demonstrating how the motifs in this book might be used in and on garments, as appliques, and edgings. Lots of creative ideas!

Book Specs:

Beyond The Square Crochet Motifs by Edie Eckman

Storey Publishing, 202 pages, 144 motifs.

ISBN 9781603420396

Hardcover with SPIRAL BINDING (yeah!!) and slick cover

There are several other advantages to this book over other motif books. The appendix contains two elements that I find especially helpful – the circular graphs for drawing one’s own symbol charts and the full color motif arrangement guide.

Getting ready for back to school makes me think about pencil crafts, so let’s take a look at some pencil themed knitting patterns!

I recently made a pencil on a circular knitting machine, and it was a fun, quick, easy project that uses little bits of leftover yarn (and if you don’t have yellow you can make it a colored pencil using whatever color’s your favorite). And if you want to make a bigger version check out this pattern from Orange Olive Road on Etsy.

If you want to knit a pencil pillow by hand, check out Sketchy, available on Ravelry from Shana S. Cohen. This one uses worsted weight yarn and has two size options and the choice to make a pencil with an eraser or a colored pencil.

Pencil scarves seem to be the most popular kind of pencil knitting pattern, and there are lot of cute ones. This one from Cosy Craft UK mostly uses garter stitch, with some welts to add texture and what looks like an I-cord edging. It calls for DK weight yarn.

If you want to go all garter stitch try this version from Emsley Co Creations, which uses five colors of DK weight yarn and just a little shaping to make the point of the pencil.

There’s also this fun, mostly stockinette so it looks like it curls a bit, pencil pattern that looks like it’s worked in chunky yarn from Little Knits Studio. This one uses just a little garter stitch and easy shaping for the point.

If you don’t want a pencil scarf, how about some pencil socks? The No. 2 Pencil Socks from The Yarn Enabler are available from Ravelry and use five colors of sock yarn. They feature wide ribs to mimic the texture of a pencil and have options to be worked from the top down or the toe up.

Needs Sharpening by Alexander Walker is a free pattern on Ravelry that uses five colors of sock yarn to make a sort of shortie sock. The little bit of black at the tips of the toes inspired the name. These, too, can be worked in either direction and are available in three sizes.

Have you read?